Today, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz announced that a tentative agreement on a new contract has been reached between Erie County and Erie County CSEA Unit 6700.  CSEA membership will vote on the agreement June 14-16.

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said, “Contract negotiations always involve an open dialogue and sincere efforts to do what’s right for all involved. This tentative agreement addressed the inflationary issues of the day while being fair and responsible. I want to thank Commissioner of Labor Relations Josh Pennel and his team along with the CSEA Unit 6700 team for working out a proposed contract that respects labor and the taxpayers.”

“CSEA feels that we reached a mutually beneficial agreement that provides its members with an improved work environment,” said CSEA Erie County Unit President Bill Wilkinson. “We are confident that the terms of the agreement will give members a greater work-life balance along with additional wages and benefits that will promote recruitment and retention efforts in such a highly competitive market.”

The tentative agreement begins this year and will be in effect through December 31, 2027.  There are 2,400 CSEA members employed by Erie County, along with an additional 1,500 members employed by the Erie County Medical Center Corporation (“ECMCC”), Erie Community College (“ECC”), and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library.

Among the items agreed to by CSEA membership in the Tentative Agreement are:

• An increase in pay. Membership will receive $2.50 added to their hourly base pay this year, with an increase of 4% next year and then 3% annually during the remaining four years. Other pay incentives include parking reimbursement, an increase in shift differential pay, and on-call pay.

• Work flexibility: Work from Home will be memorialized in the new contract and ten-hour shifts will be allowed, a change welcomed by employees and that helps to attract and retain talent.  Management also now has greater flexibility to reassign employees.

• All sick leave bonuses are being phased out of the contract; these bonuses encouraged employees to come to work when sick, and are thus being ended.

• There are also new policies in the contract for both notifying probationers of poor performance and using mediation to settle disputes, and newly-negotiated changes to time and attendance policy.

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